CIS citizens should have foreign travel passports to cross Russian borders – Minister for Far East Development

December 11, 2012, 16:40 UTC+3Far East authorities are concerned about the lack of precise data about the actual number of labor migrants in the region

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KHABAROVSK, December 11 (Itar-Tass) — Minister for Far East Development, presidential envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District Viktor Ishayev said citizens of former Soviet republics should have foreign travel passports to be able to enter Russia. "We'll bring forward this proposal to the Russian president," he said during a joint meeting of the Council under the envoy's office and the board of the Ministry for Far East Development on Tuesday. The participants considered the implementation of the federal migration policy of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District until 2025.

Regional authorities are concerned about the lack of precise data about the actual number of labor migrants in the region. Some said there are 240,000 migrants, but other sources put the number at 280,000.

Illegal migration is not the only acute problem. The region is plagued by the continuing outflow of able-bodied population. The outflow of skilled workers cannot be compensated by the arrival of migrants with lower education levels.

In 2011, 51,800 people who received higher professional education, and 45,600 with comprehensive professional education left the region. At the same time, 42,400 able-bodied citizens with higher education and 42,000 with secondary education arrived in the region.

The established format of migration flows makes negative influence upon the district's economy, the participants in the session noted. The demand for skilled labor is not met. By the middle of 2012, the demand for labor exceeded the supply by almost two-fold, although even at the height of the 2009 crisis the supply and the demand in the labor market practically coincided.

The presidential envoy underlined that it was necessary to form and keep a permanent population in the Far East. "The policy of relocating residents from far north regions to southern areas has existed for years. Then we work out a program and pay money to attract population from southern territories to the Far East. We've long offered to implement relocation within the Federal District The migration program within the Far Eastern Federal District is quite urgent. So far, the migration policy results in specialists leaving the region to be replaced by people with lower skills," Ishayev said.

The envoy's office suggested creating internship and stimuli for graduates of vocational training schools in Far Eastern areas. It is necessity to form a single system of encouragement of employers, who open internship courses.

Also, the envoy offered to consider drawing a federal program to render assistance to Russian citizens in relocating to the Far East for permanent residence.